From the desk
“I want to read more Nigerian literature. Where do I start?”
Where to begin with Nigerian writing
Six ways in, from a classic to a Lagos thriller. Read them in any order; between them they cover more than a century of Nigerian life.
6 books · The Learningaid desk · Updated October 2026
- 01
Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe · 1958
“The natural first step: a short, clear novel, and the book so much later African writing answers back to.”
Paperback
- 02
Purple Hibiscus
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie · 2003
“Adichie's first novel, narrated by fifteen-year-old Kambili — an absorbing way into her work before the longer books.”
- 03
Stay With Me
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ · 2017
“A marriage under pressure in 1980s Nigeria, told from both sides.”
- 04
My Sister, the Serial Killer
Oyinkan Braithwaite · 2018
“Short, sharp and darkly funny — proof that Nigerian fiction is not all historical epics.”
- 05
The Fishermen
Chigozie Obioma · 2015
“Four brothers, a river and a prophecy, in 1990s Akure.”
Paperback
- 06
The Girl with the Louding Voice
Abi Daré · 2020
“A fourteen-year-old's fight for an education, in her own unforgettable voice.”
Hardcover
